Recent Post
How to Harvest, Cure and Store Onions
Pull storage onions when about half the tops are down, cure them 2 to 3 weeks until the necks are tight, and store them cold and dry. It includes a curing-time table, braid vs mesh vs crate storage, and why sweet onions do not keep as long.
When to Tap Maple Trees: The Freeze-Thaw Rule
Tap maple trees when the forecast shows freezing nights and days near 40°F, several in a row, and drill on a day above freezing. A freeze-thaw checklist, how to read the forecast for sap runs, tapping too early vs too late, and the signs it is time to pull your taps.
How Much to Plant per Person: Vegetable Garden Chart and Calculator
Plants per person for 38 vegetables from Virginia Cooperative Extension, with a calculator that turns your household into plants, row feet and square feet. A family of 4 needs 8 to 16 tomato plants per planting.
How to Protect Plants from Frost
Cover tender plants in the evening so the cover traps the soil’s heat, take it to the ground, keep it off the leaves and uncover the next day. How to read a frost night, what each cover protects to, and what to do the morning after.
Maple Syrup Hydrometer Temperature Correction
A maple syrup hydrometer only reads true at the temperature it was calibrated for. Correct your reading for the syrup’s actual temperature with this calculator and chart, and see what too thin and too thick really mean.
Maple Syrup Finishing Temperature (and Your Altitude)
Maple syrup finishes at about 7.1 degrees F above the boiling point of water at your location, so the target moves with altitude and the weather. A calculator, an altitude table, and why a hydrometer beats a thermometer for the final call.